The Ghost Ship of Jordan Harbour

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph this shipwreck, which sits in Jordan Harbour, south of the QEW. I've passed this hulk many times miles while enroute to Niagara wine country, but never had the time to stop and make photos. On my way early Sunday morning to the Canada/US border, I promised myself I would stop on my way home to capture this decrepit structure.

The lighting was not optimal when I pulled into the parking lot on my trek homeward, but I wasn't going to let that excuse stop me. While stark, direct light would have emphasized the wear, the texture and general poor condition of the ship, i knew the overcast light would open up shadows and give me more latitude for detail and exposure.

Also worth noting; I created and completed this project on my iPad, on the train to Ottawa, using the free Behance app. This app has really evolved and has become much more than just a viewing app. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't done so already.

Upon review, I decided that black and white did the most justice to the majority of these images. I experimented with various presets, grain, vignette and even Dehaze to help tell the story and add a sense of this being a ghost ship.

History

According to the Niagara Greenbelt website, the ship is called Le Grand Hermine. It started out its life in 1914 as a replica of the largest of three ships Jacques Cartier used to sail up the St. Lawrence River. Originally used as a ferry on the St. Lawrence, it also became a cargo ship and even a floating restaurant, before being towed and abandoned in its current location in Jordan, Ontario.

Ghost Ship

I used a Linear filter and Dehaze, to give the ship an ephemeral feeling, as if it was fading out of existence. Dehaze can be used to reduce mist, haze etc., but it can also be used to that type of atmosphere to the image. Used in a Linear filter, I can control the coverage. By accessing the brush tool in Lightroom Desktop while the filter is still active, I can also erase the filter's effect in areas. I applied the eraser brush to the thick tree trunk in the foreground, to help add some depth and separation (and realism) to the final piece.

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